Festival Opening Ceremony

Join Festival co-founders Terry Hunter and Savannah Walling as they reflect on their 21-year history with the Festival; express gratitude to fellow artists, residents and organizations; and ‘pass the paddle’ to new leadership. Special guests include, among others: Bob Baker/S7aplek (Squamish Nation); Gerry Sung (Scope G), a young talented Chinese Canadian rap artist and Props Master’s Dream cast member (Vancouver Cantonese Opera); Pavel Rhyzlovsky (accordion) and Leonard Chokroun (violin), two exceptional musicians from Strathcona’s Ukrainian Hall; and Larissa Healey and Pavel Desjarlais, two spirit-lifting grass dancers. All are welcome. Refreshments. 

Wednesday October 30 | 2pm
Carnegie Community Centre Theatre | 401 Main | free 

Photo: Gerry Sung (by David Cooper)

La Llorona

Join this special Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration featuring the enchanting story of the Mexican icon La Malinche as told through the singing of the song "La Llorona", shadow puppetry, and traditional dance. Directed by Gerardo Avila with puppeteers Hazel Bell-Koski and Dana Wilson, storyteller Steven Schwable and a heart-stirring music and dance performance by Calle Verde.  

Friday November 1 | 7:00pm
Carnegie Community Centre Theatre | 401 Main | free

Photo: Calle Verde (by David Cooper)

A JOINT PROGRAM, Ritual-Spective–RE: turning 迴融: 迴歸 & Chinatown Stories Audio Tour: Roving Conversations Between Intergenerational Pairs 

Friday, November 1 | 6pm – 9pm (Opening event 7pm)
Saturday, November 2 |  1pm – 5pm
Sunday, November 3 | 11am – 3pm
Chimerik Chinatown Art Space | 155-288 E Georgia | free

Artist Talk with Sammy Chien & Andrea Nann
Saturday November 2 | 5pm – 7pm
Left of Main | 211 Keefer | free

Ritual-Spective–RE: turning 迴融: 迴歸

A multi-series, experimental, interactive media arts installation that honours the life of painter Jackson Chien 簡志雄, the father of Sammy Chien. This project investigates – from the lens of an artist child of immigrants – intergenerational dialogue around artistic, cultural and spiritual legacy. The project also explores love during the unspoken times of colonial oppression, Western globalization and diaspora. Produced by Chimerik 似不像 (Sammy Chien & Caroline MacCaull) in partnership with Dreamwalker Dance Company.

Chinatown Stories Audio Tour: Roving Conversations Between Intergenerational Pairs 

‘Walk with’ five intergenerational pairs whose conversations about significant places, events and people were recorded while roving the streets of Vancouver’s Historic Chinatown. Meet Lori, who grew up on Shanghai Alley; Alger, an emerging interdisciplinary artist; Lynda, who recently moved to Vancouver to connect with the place where her late mother grew up; and others. Audio tours will be accessed for playback on your personal device via QR code. By Dreamwalker Dance Company (from Firehorse and Shadow in Community) co-created by dance artist Andrea Nann (whose grandmother was born in Shanghai Alley) with a circle of collaborating artists. Presented at this year’s Festival in partnership with Chimerik 似不像 and plastic orchid factory.

Top photo: Sammy Chien, Jackson Chien (by David Cooper)
Bottom photo: Lynda Sing, Kelsi James, Beverly Nann (by David Cooper)

Threads of Support & Resilience - EartHand Gleaners Community Celebration at Trillium Park, and procession to Ancestral Foodways Día De Los Muertos Festival at Strathcona Park

Ancestral Foodways and EartHand Gleaners Society partner on this special event to celebrate community threads of connection and honour our ancestors for Día de los Muertos. Afternoon events begin with EarthHand Gleaners at Trillium Park where you can participate in an afternoon of crafting, spinning, weaving, mending and storytelling. Nourishment provided. At the end of this afternoon session, join a procession from Trillium Park to the Strathcona Park Shrine led by artists from the Still Moon Arts Society.
Saturday November 2 |1pm – 4pm
Trillium Park | corner of Malkin and Thornton | free

Then, join Ancestral Food Ways for the evening Día De Los Muertos Festival at Strathcona Park! Immerse yourself in a vibrant mix of tradition and culture with music, dance, flowers, ceremonial fire and harvests that connect the living with our ancestors. Food will be shared with the public. Everyone is welcome!
Saturday November 2 | 4pm – 8pm
Strathcona Park | 857 Malkin | free

All events are outside: dress for the weather!

The Prop Master's Dream

This innovative fusion opera produced by Vancouver Cantonese Opera is inspired by the extraordinary true-life story of Wah-Kwan Gwan (1929-2000), a little-known Chinese Opera performer and prop master born to a local Chinese father and Indigenous mother. The Cantonese opera cast is joined by multi-award nominated Haudenosaunee/Irish actress and singer Cheri Maracle, Chinese Canadian rap narrator Gerry Sung, lighting by award-winning designer Itai Erdal, and projections by filmmaker Anthony Lee.

Saturday November 2 | 2pm & 7:30pm
Vancouver Playhouse | 600 Hamilton
Tickets: https://bit.ly/3B8rO0w

Photo: Cheri Maracle, Jackie Lam (by David Cooper)

“Weaselling, Wanking, Cheating, Conniving, Lapdog Lackeys of the Soul-sucking Corporate Capitalist”: Resistance + Responses from the Sid Chow Tan Archives

A new generation of community organizers engage and reflect on the vast archive of volunteer-produced video journalism produced by beloved Chinatown/DTES activist Sid Chow Tan. This event is part of an ongoing initiative to animate Sid’s art of activism; nurture and sustain the spirit of solidarity, humour, and class consciousness; and foster intergenerational, cross-cultural connections and knowledge-sharing. Program partners: VIVO Media Arts and Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Cantonese & Mandarin translation provided.

Tuesday November 5 | 6:30pm
Carnegie Community Centre Theatre | 401 Main | free

Photo: Sid Chow Tan (by David Cooper)

Town Hall: Uplifting or Gentrifying the DTES?

In November 2023, City Council passed a motion titled “Uplifting the Downtown Eastside and Building Inclusive Communities for all Residents”. The motion calls for city staff to report on many DTES issues, including changing zoning and the social housing definition in the DTES. Will these changes ‘uplift’ or gentrify the DTES? Join confirmed panelists Councillor Rebecca Bligh, Norm Leech (Aboriginal Front Door Board Chair), Kathy Shimizu (community organizer), Michelle Lackie (former Executive Director of Inner City Exchange), Jean Swanson (Carnegie Housing Project), and Wendy Pedersen (SRO Collaborative) to learn about and discuss the implications of the motion.

Wednesday November 6 | 7pm
Japanese Hall | 487 Alexander | free

Photo: DTES Housing Demonstration (by Yolanda Cole)

The Keep It Raw Cabaret, a tribute to Jay Hamburger

The Keep It Raw Cabaret has it all! This fresh and exciting evening pays tribute to the inimitable Jay Hamburger, a beloved and recently passed teacher, political activist, radio host, and Artistic Director of Theatre in the Raw. Featuring award-winning musicians/composers Earle Peach and Bill Sample with a chorus of accomplished voices; the stand-up comedy of Ralston Harris; staged theatrical surprises by seasoned thespians; a taste of Jay’s original poetry and writings; and your co-hosts Jacques Lalonde (Sesame Street, Lifetime Achievement Award Vancouver Fringe); and international guest star Kieran Sequoia (Breaking Bad, Disney’s Night at the Museum). Presented in association with Theatre in the Raw. Co-produced by Teresa Vandertuin and one crazy Frenchman Jacques Lalonde for the DTES Heart of the City Festival.

Saturday November 9 | doors 7:30pm | show 8pm
Russian Hall | 600 Campbell
Tickets https://bit.ly/4eqs3Cu

By donation, a fundraiser for Co-op Radio 100.5FM

Photo: Kieran Sequoia (by Katie Keaveny)

River Stories / Ocean Song

Journey with us in a deep-rooted exploration that invites cross-cultural exchanges, performative story-making, and creative dialogue where ancestral histories and contemporary realities meet.
These events are for you if you’re interested in discovering your culturally storied body in a dance between self and community. At Arrivals Legacy Project, we guide, gather, and challenge artists and creators to access and re-route their creative impulses by attuning to the wisdom of their ancestral stories.  We ignite the joy of deepening creative collaborations that amplify and re-centre the rich cultural legacy of BIPGM artistry.

Personal Legacy Workshop Demo  1012pm
Find your feet in this immersive Arrivals Personal Legacy workshop, led by founding Artistic Director Diane Roberts.

Arrivals SeedPool Collaborative Platform Presentation 1 – 1:30pm
Join ALP’s Creative Producer, Anju Singh, who will share the collaborative process showcased in our digital gallery and the emerging artworks therein.

Village Circle: Narrative Streams 1:30-3:30pm
Experience a creative sharing circle led by members of the interdisciplinary research co(lab) that explores how interflowing narrative streams – fed by the legacies of our shared and diverse ancestries – can lead us home. Co-Presented with Arrivals Legacy Project (Montreal)

November 9 | 10am – 3:30pm
Russian Hall | 600 Campbell
By donation | register at https://bit.ly/3XT473M

Kin

Join artists AJ Simmons and Kelty McKerracher for an evening of flamenco dance that explores looping technology and live performance. This performance is born from the artists’ shared desire to queer the flamenco form, and recognize the kinship between queerness and flamenco: outsiders building worlds of joy, defiance and community pride. Witness the ritual of: finding impulses of flamenco through music, dance, and song; body, elements and earth; and lineage and chosen family. This performance is followed by a talkback.

Saturday, November 9 | 8pm
KW Production Studio | 111 W Hastings | enter from Atrium
Tickets:  https://bit.ly/3B71m7z

Two Amigos Walking Tour, with John Atkin and Bob Sung 

The Festival is excited to present two walking explorations with the powerhouse duo of John Atkin and Bob Sung. The Two Amigos shine unique insights on the neighbourhood’s history, culture and architecture. Along the way, you’ll discover what’s in the herbal stores;  learn about local architecture and the fight for neighbourhood preservation. And about BBQ meats! John is a civic historian and heritage consultant, and Bob hosts cultural and culinary tours of Chinatown.

Sunday | November 10 | Two Tours
10am – 11:30am | Tickets: https://bit.ly/3TwLFg8
1pm – 2:30pm | Tickets: https://bit.ly/3TvcNvO
Limited capacity | registration required

Photo: John Aktin (by Ken Tabata)

The Sojourners

We are thrilled to welcome back long-standing friends and supporters The Sojourners, and group member Khari McClelland, a Strathcona/DTES resident. Each member of The Sojourners trio grew up singing in their home churches, and their music honours gospel’s foundations in freedom, social justice and community. Exceptional musicians and artists, The Sojourners sing gospel music that can take a punch and remain standing. Singing praise music with their own special ‘stank’, The Sojourners sound is at home in a road house bar as in a revival tent. Their universe echoes a unique weave of doo wop, R&B, country and blues. This is real gospel — blessed with a soul that can’t be faked! What a way to end the Festival!

Sunday November 10 | 7pm
St. James Church | 303 E Cordova 
Tickets: https://bit.ly/3MNpkXN

Photo: Marcus Mosely, Khari McClelland, Will Sanders